News and Updates

Solomiya took my phone and apparently was taking pictures of Fedya. Not bad, nice Ukrainian colors.

Solomiya enjoys playing with Fedya- he enjoys it too, even if it means allowing your big sister to put bows in your hair and fancy shoes on your feet. This is funny, because my sister and I did the same thing to our brother.

Celebrated my birthday by making an apple pie with a heart-shaped crust. Looks bleh, tasted good.

Also celebrated my birthday at the park. I will explain this picture: In the middle you can see several ladies standing in front of a white, wall-like object. It turns out, they were making a camouflage net to send to the Ukrainian army in the East. White- because it is quite snowy there. The ladies invited all the people who were passing by to tie strips of white material on the net. Very cool.

Mike had the opportunity to speak at a friend's church. AND- he spoke the entire message in Ukrainian. He was talking for like 25-30 minutes. So proud of him. Now- I know it looks like there was only 1 person there listening, but I assure you there were more. Maybe 40 people.

Life in a Ukrainian Kindergarten- The Business Side

"Pay your bills by the 10th of the month." and "Dear Parents, please do not come inside." (My translation)

Didn't pay your school bill last month? Well, everyone else is about to know... (Interesting approach though). Speaking of bills, I thought I would add a little commentary about money and kindergarten. When S first began back in July, we had to pay 1000r to the school and 1000r to the classroom. At that time- with the exchange rate then- it was about $200. The director and the teachers use the money to buy supplies, do remodeling etc. Every month we have to pay 30r (which now is like less than $2) to a "parents fund" (for events and such) and also about 40-50r per month for food- breakfast, lunch, snacks and a light supper if the kids stay that late (that is less than $5 a month!). I'd say this is a pretty good deal.

The play-doh showcase!!! They work with a play-doh-like-substance 1-2 times a week and the teachers display the skills they were working on and each child's work (the OT side of me loves this- thank you teacher for working on their fine motor skills). S's is the 2nd from the end.

This could potentially be the most important piece of paper displayed in the corridor- the Cookie Schedule. Each kid takes a turn bringing in cookies for the whole class for snack time. It works out to be every other month. Our next cookie day is February 23rd.

All of the kids birthdays displayed in a cool way- according to the season.

Art work! The teachers provide a written explanation of the specific skills/techniques they were working on that day. They display them in the corridor each week. Of course, this one is S's.

Another work of art- they were practicing circles.

"Ahhhhh!" That is what happened after I read this note. I didn't understand what the virus was, but I most certainly understood the word "Quarantine"! One of the kids had the Chicken Pox and they are required to post the news to all of the parents.

Fall and Interesting Soviet/Post-Soviet-Era Books

Another blog that was lost, but now is found. I kind of was going through a time-warp/black hole in the blog world for the past few months- hence, no blogs...

Interesting books I have read or am in the process of reading (I have a small obsession with Soviet/post-Soviet and Slavic culture):

The Tiger by John Vaillant

Excellent book that was recommended to me by my dad. It is a true story about a tiger hunt, but it also gives great descriptions of what post-Soviet life is like in the far, far East of Russia. The geography of this region was also amazing to read about.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Very interesting look into Slavic/Russian culture during this time period. I must say though, half-way through, I became a little bored with the story line. I have to pick it up again soon and finish it.

Winter Road by Andy Frecka

This American guy wrote down his adventures of living/volunteering in Russia. He works for YWAM. Such a good writer and such interesting stories. Definitely recommend it. This guy also has a blog: Eye on Moscow. If you're interested in reading/learning about Slavic culture, check it out! Even if you just want something interesting to read while you are waiting in line at the post office: do it.

Snow and Deruny – Ukrainian Potato Pancakes (Деруни)

Twas a slushy ride on the sled to kindergarten this morning. But, hey, we were just excited to use the sled again.

And I think it's so cool that we can travel by sled here- or that S can travel by sled and I can pull her.

In other news, finally made this (after living in Ukraine for 3 years...):

Deruny – Ukrainian Potato Pancakes (Деруни)

And- this website rocks!!!! : 

http://natashaskitchen.com/2011/02/28/deruny-ukrainian-potato-pancakes-деруни/

Uzhhorod's Birthday

Uzhhorod celebrated its birthday way back in October and this blog post has been suspended in the virtual world since then.

As you can see, it was a lovely day.

Bozhdoski Park

Wow- this was in October. This blog was suspended between reality and the virtual world, but I rescued it today!

This is an awesome park in Uzhorrod. As you can see, you can visit Baba Yaga's house, go on a variety of rides, enjoy the trees or watch humongous dogs.

Don't know who Baba Yaga is??? Well- she makes her appearance in a few Ukrainian fairy tales: http://www.oldrussia.net/baba.html

Dunkin' Donuts in Uzhhorod

Last Sunday, we decided to walk down this here street after church to investigate a new cafe that recently opened. Why, you ask???

Because of this: Sweet Donuts. It looked eerily familiar to us. Yes, that's right. That font is strangely similar to Dunkin' Donuts, eh? So, of course we needed to see what it was like. And, of course, to investigate if their "donuts" were actually donuts, or just a distant cousin.

We sent our chief investigator for this mission.

He ordered what appeared to be 'donut-like' creations.

Solomiya couldn't decide on which donut she wanted to test. Mike was trying to explain to her that all donuts were created equal and she shouldn't pick one based on the outward appearance.

The donuts were all filled with a chocolate-like substance. Our littlest chocolate lover could not be fooled and refused to eat anymore after one taste. She is just into the good stuff, like Roshen chocolate. Shout out to the president.

They were very much like donuts. Super light and fluffy, perhaps baked a day or two before.... not the freshest. The coffee was super strong. My spoon was standing up in it and it walked away twice.

This donut was labeled 'Tiramisu'. It tasted like... a plain white donut with sugar and sugar on top. Topped with a little extra sugar for that sugary sugaressness. If you're looking for a good time in Uzhhorod, we can recommend some other cafes. If you're looking for an okay time with a coffee buzz that lasts for 2 days, Sweet Donut is the place to be.